Through its offices regulated in major financial centers, CMC Markets offers traders a wide range of offerings across global markets with its Next Generation trading platform, which is packed with innovative trading tools and charting.

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Founded in 1989, CMC Markets (LSE: CMCX) has grown to become one of the leading retail forex and CFD brokerages, offering nearly 10,000 CFD instruments across major asset classes including forex, commodities, and securities markets. In 2016, CMC Markets was listed on the London Stock Exchange under the ticker CMCX, with an initial valuation of $1 billion, making it one of the largest technology IPOs of the year.

CMC Markets offers its Next Generation trading platform as a web-based platform that is also available as a mobile app for Android and iPhone/iPad devices.

CMC Markets serves over 60,000 clients worldwide through its 15 offices globally and across its entities regulated in the UK, Canada, and Australia.

Trust Score

Trading with a forex broker traders can trust is crucial to success. Unfortunately, forex fraud and scams are common in the industry.

Here at ForexBrokers.com, we maintain the largest independent regulatory database available on the web. Using 28 different variables, we have created a proprietary 1-100 score (the higher the better) of overall trustworthiness, which we call the Trust Score. Here is our trust summary of CMC Markets.

CMC Markets

Trust Score

90

Year Founded

1989

Publicly-Traded Company (Listed)

Yes

Regulated in Major Hub

Yes

Regulated in Emerging Hub

Yes

Authorised in the European Union

Yes

CFTC Registered (USA)

No

FCA Regulated (UK)

Yes

IIROC Authorised (Canada)

Yes

FINMA Authorised (Switzerland)

No

ASIC Authorised (Australia)

Yes

SFC Authorised (Hong Kong)

No

MAS Authorised (Singapore)

Yes

FSA Authorised (Japan)

No

FMA Authorised (New Zealand)

Yes

CySEC Authorised (Cyprus)

No

Offering of Investments

The following table summarizes the different investment products available to CMC Markets clients.

CMC Markets

Minimum Initial Deposit

$0.00

Currency Pairs (Total Forex pairs)

183

CFDs - Total Offered

10172

Exchange Traded Securities: US

No

Exchange Traded Securities: International

Yes

Cryptocurrency traded as actual

No

Cryptocurrency traded as CFD

Yes

Commissions & Fees

CMC Markets offers highly competitive pricing, with average spreads on the EUR/USD as low as 0.7 pips and typical spreads of 0.772 pips, according to CMC Markets price data for the 30 days ending November, 2017.

In our 2018 Forex Review, CMC Markets finished Best in Class thanks to its low spread offering, which is available to all its customer segments and account types. Close competitors include its direct peers in the multi-asset category: IG, Saxo, Dukascopy, Gain Capital, and XTB.

However, for more aggressive pricingOne final note on pricing, CMC Markets does also offers liquidity rebates to active traders that surpass at least £50 million in notional trading volumes per month, with rebate levels ranging from £5 to as much as £10 per million for those that trade even higher volumes.

CMC Markets

Average Spread EUR/USD - Standard

0.772

All-in Cost EUR/USD - Active

0.772

Active Trader or Premium/VIP

Yes

Customer Service

For our 2018 Forex Review, 129 customer service phone tests were conducted over three months. The data collected is institutional grade. On average, three questions were asked for each test. To score each test, the tests were divided into three separate groups and scores were given for the time taken to connect with each support representative and the ability of each representative to professionally (and thoroughly) answer each question. A Net Promoter Score was also given for the overall experience.

Results:

Average Connection Time: 1-2 minute

Average Net Promoter Score: 5 / 10

Average Professionalism Score: 4.3 / 10

Overall Score: 5.1 / 10

Ranking: 30th (43 brokers)

Research

CMC Markets’ research offering is rich with content from an in-house team of global analysts, including its Insights News, CMC Markets Blog, CMC TV, and social media channels, and external content streamed within the platform from Reuters.

Traders can also access additional tools within the platform, including pattern recognition software and client sentiment tools – both of which are available to live account holders. The market calendar window provides a countdown to the time when each economic news event is expected to be released – a very neat feature to help traders prepare in advance.

In terms of research, CMC Markets does well in this category as there are multiple channels for content and several ways for traders to research ideas using economic calendar events in the Next Generation platform and on the company’s website. CMC Markets also offers pattern recognition tools to live account holders, as described below in the Platform & Tools section.

CMC Markets

Daily Market Commentary

Yes

Forex News (Top-Tier Sources)

Yes

AutoChartist

No

Trading Central (Recognia)

Yes

Delkos Research

No

Acuity Trading

No

Social Trading / Copy-Trading

No

Social Sentiment - Currency Pairs

Yes

Client Webinars

Yes

Client Webinars (Archived)

Yes

Videos - Beginner Trading Videos

No

Economic Calendar

Yes

Calendar Includes Forecasts

Yes

Economic News Sentiment

Yes

Trade Ideas - Backtesting

Yes

Platforms & Tools

The CMC Markets Next Generation trading platform comes packed with several unique tools and numerous features to support beginner and advanced traders. The many features, ranging from simple to complex, offer multiple levels of configuration, including five default layouts that can be further customized.

Looking at the trade ticket, the design is simple, yet it can be expanded to add stops and limits as well as to see the depth of book (level 2) pricing. Switching between order types from the trade ticket window is very easy, as is choosing between the available stop-loss orders (normal stop-loss, trailing stop, and GSLO).

The estimated margin is also shown on the bottom of the trade ticket window, depending on the trade size and related margin requirement for the specific product. Furthermore, the trading product/instrument can be changed via a search bar on top of the trade ticket window.

The module linking on CMC Markets’ Next Generation platform seems natural for the user experience – whether you are using a watchlist or any other linkable window – and is an industry standard practice for leading US online stockbroker platforms.

Yet another unique feature in the Next Generation web-based version is Portfolio Mixer, which lets you create a basket of various holdings, based on a net asset value (NAV) amount consisting of all the individual allocations and the weighting for each one in your ‘My Mix’ portfolio.

I found the tool very simple to use to see how a theoretical portfolio would have performed over time, yet there is room for further enhancements such as typing in the amount per allocation instead of using the sliding button to adjust the weightings for each holding.

When it comes to charting within the Next Generation platform, the experience is quite powerful as there are plenty of tools and a long list of 69 technical indicators and studies that can be added to each chart.

When it comes to charting within the Next Generation platform, the experience is quite powerful as there are plenty of tools and a long list of 69 technical indicators and studies that can be added to each chart. Many other forex brokers offer only a few dozen technical indicators, on average.

Additional options include ‘chart type,’ ‘draw tools,’ ‘timeframe,’ and ‘patterns,’ which can be quickly accessed from the bottom of each chart window, and each section comes with plenty of options.

One feature that stands out from the charting experience is the pattern-recognition tool, which complements CMC Markets’ research offering. The tool offers traders numerous options for trading and analyzing price action, with a full list of patterns available to live account holders.

The sentiment tool, also available to live account holders, provides a clean experience to quickly gauge the sentiment of other traders. In addition to CMC Markets, brokers such as OANDA publish sentiment indicators for their clients’ aggregate market exposure.

CMC Markets doesn’t currently offer MT4 or MT5, and the current version of the Next Generation platform doesn’t feature the ability to run automated trading strategies – even though pattern recognition and social-trading tools are available. Traders with algorithmic trading may opt to use FXCM, FOREX.com, FxPro, or other brokers that support such trading, including platforms such as MetaTrader or cTrader.

Without question, CMC Markets’ Next Generation platform ranks near the top among multi-asset brokers with web-based platforms, including IG and Saxo Bank. Interestingly, these three platforms lack any support for automated trading or algorithmic-driven strategies.

That said, Next Generation is a platform that still relies on a flash-enabled web browser to power its charting, for example. It is important to note, because flash is outdated and no longer supported in multiple browsers. Looking ahead, we’d like to see the platform transition to HTML5 sooner than later to ensure a fluid experience for all customers.

Bottom line, while Next Generation is a powerful web platform that most traders will enjoy.

CMC Markets

Virtual Trading (Demo)

Yes

Desktop Platform (Windows)

No

Desktop Platform (Mac)

No

Web Platform

Yes

Social Trading / Copy-Trading

No

Proprietary

Yes

MetaTrader4 (MT4)

No

MetaTrader5 (MT5)

No

cTrader

No

Currenex

No

ZuluTrade

No

MirrorTrader

No

Charting - Drawing Tools (Total)

24

Charting - Indicators / Studies (Total)

74

Watchlists - Total Fields

8

Order Type - Trailing Stop

Yes

Mobile Trading

Using the CMC Markets’ mobile app on my Samsung Galaxy S7 smartphone was a positive experience as the app is cleanly designed and comes packed with research tools, powerful charts, and filters to scan products by asset class.

The default screen shown on login can be customized in the app settings or will auto-select and show open positions; a subtle feature picky traders will appreciate.

In terms of choosing from the nearly 10,000 products available, CMC Markets manages to keep the process simple, as users can search the product library where products are grouped by asset class, or they can start off with a blank search by product name.

For research purposes, another useful feature in the app is the economic calendar where you can subscribe to an event. Doing so automatically creates an alert so you can be notified when the news release time approaches.

Like much of the rest of the app, charting was as equally impressive as the platform’s web version. Although only 23 of the 69 technical indicators are available on the mobile app, it’s still a good offering compared to many of CMC Markets’ competitors, which often lack this variety or have no technical indicators on their mobile apps at all. The same applies to drawings tools, too, which are often hard to come by.

The same applies to drawings tools, too, which are often hard to come by. Meanwhile, other firms’ mobile apps, such as those of thinkorswim by TD Ameritrade or Interactive Brokers have hundreds of technical studies to choose from for technical enthusiasts, yet CMC Markets does well in providing a high-quality selection, along with powerful drawing tools that include moveable trend lines.

To make technical analysis easier, simply rotate your phone to the horizontal mode, which makes it easier to perform chart customizations. Furthermore, it provides a cleaner experience for drawing trend lines, adding indicators, and zooming in and out.

While the charting experience was impressive, one minor drawback is that zooming in and out across different time frames was not always fluid.

The overall look and feel of the CMC Markets mobile app closely resembles the web-based version of the Next Generation platform, while the user interface does well in dealing with the challenge of organizing so much information with limited screen space. What CMC Markets has accomplished is impressive and it shows the broker has taken its time during development.

Overall, the CMC Markets mobile app ranks close to other leading multi-asset brokers with proprietary platforms such as IG Group, City Index, and Saxo Bank.

CMC Markets

Android App

Yes

Apple iOS App

Yes

Charting - Draw Trend Lines

Yes

Charting - Can Turn Horizontally

Yes

Charting - Technical Studies/Indicators

23

Watch List Syncing

Yes

Trading - Forex

Yes

Trading - CFDs

Yes

Alerts - Basic Fields

Yes

Other Notes

Up to certain position thresholds which vary depending on the instrument you trade, CMC Markets offers a Guaranteed Stop-Loss Order (GSLO), which, as its name implies, guarantees the stop-loss order rate clients choose when setting risk thresholds on their positions. There is a premium for using the GSLO – for example, $8 per 100,000 units using the EUR/USD, and the GSLO also affects the prime margin, which is the amount at risk specified in the GLSO based on the rate chosen.

Final Thoughts

CMC Markets is a great choice for Forex and CFD traders as the company’s Next Generation platform is powerful and versatile with plenty of configuration options and tools for traders to customize the platform to meet their needs.

In terms of FX product offering, CMC Markets offers the largest selection of forex pairs, with over 183 pairs available, making its pricing attractive across an extensive range of currency pairs, compared to most brokers who offer only the most popular forex pairs.

Compared to my 2017 review, CMC Markets maintained its position but hasn’t built on it further. For example, several of its peers improved their offerings by revamping their mobile apps, shifting to HTML5 on their web platforms, and launching Cryptocurrency CFDs on Bitcoin and Ethereum. Close competitors to CMC Markets in terms of product offering, range of markets, and minimum deposit to open a live account, include IG Markets, XTB, and City Index.

Nonetheless, with nearly 10,000 instruments to choose from across nearly every asset class and global market, CMC Markets is a great choice for traders looking for a multi-asset solution and broad range CFDs and forex pairs at competitive prices and with a low minimum deposit to open a live account.

Methodology

Forex Risk Disclaimer

There is a very high degree of risk involved in trading securities. With respect to foreign exchange trading, there is considerable exposure to risk, including but not limited to, leverage, creditworthiness, limited regulatory protection and market volatility that may substantially affect the price, or liquidity of a currency or currency pair. It should not be assumed that the methods, techniques, or indicators presented in these products will be profitable, or that they will not result in losses. Learn more.

Reviewed by Steven Hatzakis
Steven Hatzakis is the Global Director of Research for ForexBrokers.com. Steven previously served as an Editor for Finance Magnates, where he authored over 1,000 published articles about the online finance industry. Steven is an active fintech and crypto industry researcher and advises blockchain companies at the board level. Over the past 19 years, Steven has held numerous positions within the international forex markets, from writing to consulting to serving as a registered commodity futures representative.

CMC Markets Competitors

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Ratings
Overall

Summary

Commissions & Fees

Offering of Investments

Platforms & Tools

Research

Customer Service

Mobile Trading

Education

Best in Class

2018

3 of 43

Overall

Overall Ranking

Commissions & Fees

Offering of Investments

Research

Mobile Trading

Education

Active Trading

2017

3 of 20

Overall

Overall Ranking

Commissions & Fees

Offering of Investments

Platform & Tools

Research

Customer Service

Mobile Trading

Education

Active Trading

Commissions & Fees

Commission Notes

The commission and fees are very easy to calculate at CMC Markets because rather than offering various account types, contract sizes, and execution modes, everything is standardized into a universal account (for either individual or corporate clients) where spreads are the same for everyone.

For example, clients can trade any contract size down to 1 unit of currency, much the same as the way OANDA offers trade sizes as small as 1 unit, with a minimum increment of 1 unit.

Compared to other brokers that offer standard lots of 100,000 units at a time, or mini lots of 10,000 or micro lots of 1,000 units, at CMC Markets a trader could open a position for 111,234 units, or 14,992 units, or 1777 units, or any variation even smaller than the micro lot size.

This can be helpful for testing various strategies in a real account with less risk capital or for strategies where the trade size needs to be an exact percentage of the margin/balance.

Finally, the liquidity rebates CMC Markets offer lets active traders get discounts on commissions paid per trade – as a portion of the spreads are rebated back when you surpass at least £50 million worth of currency traded per month. There are additional rebate tiers for higher volume thresholds where the rebate per million ranges from $5-$10, and with rebates available for CFD traders too.

Trading CFDs, FX, and cryptocurrencies involves a high degree of risk. All providers have a percentage of retail investor accounts that lose money when trading CFDs with their company. You should consider whether you can afford to take the high risk of losing your money and whether you understand how CFDs, FX, and cryptocurrencies work. All data was obtained from a published web site as of 4/03/2018 and is believed to be accurate, but is not guaranteed. The ForexBrokers.com staff is constantly working with its online broker representatives to obtain the latest data. If you believe any data listed above is inaccurate, please contact us using the link at the bottom of this page.

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